GFirst LEP meets with Greg Clark and Lord Heseltine to discuss transformational economic growth plans for Gloucestershire

Dr Diane Savory OBE DL, Chair of the GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership for Gloucestershire and David Owen, Chief Executive of GFirst LEP, along with key partners met with Greg Clark, Minister for State for Cities and Constitution and Lord Heseltine earlier this week to discuss the plans for transformational economic growth in Gloucestershire, as outlined in the draft Strategic Economic Plan that was submitted to Government in December.

Dr Diane Savory OBE DL, Chair of the GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership for Gloucestershire and David Owen, Chief Executive of GFirst LEP, along with key partners met with Greg Clark, Minister for State for Cities and Constitution and Lord Heseltine earlier this week to discuss the plans for transformational economic growth in Gloucestershire, as outlined in the draft Strategic Economic Plan that was submitted to Government in December.

As a crucial milestone to mark the beginning of the negotiation process for requesting over £400m from Government before the final plan is submitted in March, the meeting outlined the ambitious, transformational, and innovative plans to grow Gloucestershire by building on its inherent strengths in partnership with the public, private and voluntary communities.

Meeting other Local Enterprise Partnerships in England that are in competition for investment funds, Greg Clark was keen to see evidence of transformational change and understand how all partners involved will locally support the proposals.  High on the agenda was skills development and how GFirst LEP will support young people to find employment opportunities. Stephen Marston, University of Gloucestershire, Adam Starkey, Green Gourmet, Neill Ricketts, Versarian, Mike Dawson from Tewkesbury Borough Council and Nigel Riglar, Gloucestershire County Council joined the team to help answer these critical questions.

Dr Diane Savory OBE DL, Chair, GFirst LEP said: “My aim as Chair of GFirst LEP has always been to develop what is, in effect, a business plan for growth for the county. Gloucestershire already has a number of significant and diverse strengths with a history of world-class technology and innovation, so our aim is to build on these with our proposal for a Growth Hub, the GREEN project and a Growth Zone. All of which are designed to unlock the economic potential of the county and act as a catalyst for accelerating significant economic growth throughout the county.

Underpinning the plan and these three proposals, is a robust foundation for governance for delivery to ensure we achieve our vision that by 2022, Gloucestershire has world-class companies, a diverse business portfolio and a reputation for starting and growing great businesses.”

David Owen, Chief Executive, GFirst LEP commented: “The meeting was an excellent opportunity to explain to Greg Clark and Lord Heseltine how the foundations for a flourishing economy in Gloucestershire have already been laid as we already have one of the best exceptional start-up survival and job creation rates in the country.  

We were able to explain that Gloucestershire has core strengths in engineering, nuclear power and renewable energy with a high proportion of our workforce employed in the medium high tech manufacturing and knowledge intensive sectors than almost any other area and outline and how these will be maintained and strengthened in the plan.

Aware that our rate of growth has lagged behind the UK average over the last 15 years, we were able to provide an overview of how the plan will drive exports, create jobs, develop skills and will create an environment in Gloucestershire that tells the world we’re open for business and the ‘go to’ place for exceptional high performance companies.

The next stage of this important journey for Gloucestershire is to finalise the plan that will be submitted to Government in March later this year.”

To read the draft Strategic Economic Plan for Gloucestershire, please click here.